Nokia Here Maps to return as free app for iOS sometime this year

Nokia's Here Maps app is officially coming back to the Apple App Store.

Nokia pulled the mapping app from the App Store almost a year ago, supposedly due to iOS 7 compatibility issues. It is currently all the rage on Windows Phone and will soon exclusively land for Samsung's Android devices (just in time for Samsung to launch Tizen devices and start lessening its dependence on Google). But now, according to The Wall Street Journal, Nokia plans to re-release Here Maps as a free app for iOS.

Nokia admitted that the first version of the iOS app was a rushed product that was "never thoroughly proven", but the team behind it has since regrouped and apparently fixed all the user experience problems. Scheduled for release before the end of 2014, the new version of Here Maps for iOS - similar to the Windows Phone and Android versions - will work without an Internet connection.

Positioned as an alternative to Google Maps, Here, formerly called Nokia Maps, is a mobile app that features maps in over 190 countries, as well as voice guided turn-by-turn navigation, public transit data, and information on points of interests. The Android version of the app notablly supports offline navigation and can serve up your location via GPS, without having to cache small areas or download entire maps before-hand.